Emberá languages

Emberá (also Embera, Chocó proper, Chokó, Cholo) is a group of vernaculars belonging to the Choco language family in northwestern Colombia and southeastern Panama.

Languages and regional variation

Emberá is usually considered a sub-grouping of the Choco languages. Often two languages are identified:

# Northern Emberá
# Southern Emberá

Each of these languages has a few regional varieties. These varieties are often considered dialects, but sometimes may be identified as languages. Most of the sub-varieties numbered immediately below are actually places, rivers, extinct groups or misspellings. For a succinct listing of the existing language groups see Gordon (2005) further below.

The Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America has the following division:

*A. Northern Emberá language (also known as Northern Antioquia, or Emberá norteño):a. Catío (also known as Katío):# Dabeiba:# Tukurá (also known as Rio Verde, upper Sinú or Emberá-Katío):# Ngverá (also known as San Jorge):b. West Embera (also known as Citará or Noerthwest Embera):# Darién (also known as Sambú or Panamá Embera):# Citará (also known as Atrato or Andágueda):# Juradó
*B. Southern Emberá language (also known as ):a. Chamí (also known as Caramanta, Embera-Chamí, East Embera or Southern Antioquia):# Cristianía:# Upper Andagueda :# Mistrató:# Tadó:# Garrapatas:b. Baudó:#Catrú:#Dubasa:#Purricha:#Pavaja: c. Eperara (also known as Epena):# Joaquincito:# Cajambre:# Naya:# Saija:# Tapaje:# Satinga

Gordon (2005):

:A. Northern:# Catío:#Northern Emberá (proper) - The Northern Embera variety is used throughout the movie "End of the Spear", where Embera people from Panama are portraying the Waodani people of Ecuador.:B. Southern:# Baudó:# Chamí:# Epena:# Tadó

A case can be made for classifying Baudo as a Northern Embera language. It has many features of both groups.

Gunn (1980:14-15):

:A. Northern:# Catío:# Chimila:# Tucura:# Emberá:B. Southern:# Saixa-Baudo:# Citara:# Tado:# Chamí

Chimila is no longer considered a Choco or Embera language. Tucura is a town where many Catios take their cash crops. Citara is sometimes used to refer to a supposed ancient culture in the Atrato region of the Choco in Colombia.

ee also

* Choco languages

External links

* Ethnologue: [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=91414 Choco, Embera]
* Proel: [http://www.proel.org/mundo/embera.htm Lengua Emberá]

Bibliography

* "The archive of the indigenous languages of Latin America". (Web page: [http://www.ailla.utexas.org/site/sa_lg_tbl.html www.ailla.utexas.org/site/sa_lg_tbl.html] , accessed 2005, Dec. 27).
* Aguirre Licht, Daniel. (1999). "Embera". Languages of the world/materials 208. LINCOM. es
* Campbell, Lyle. (1997). "American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America". New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (Ed.). (2005). "Ethnologue: Languages of the world" (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. (Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com).
* Gunn, Robert D. (Ed.). (1980). "Claificación de los idiomas indígenas de Panamá, con un vocabulario comparativo de los mismos". Lenguas de Panamá (No. 7). Panama: Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano. es
* Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The native languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), "Atlas of the world's languages" (pp. 46-76). London: Routledge.
* Loewen, Jacob. (1963). Choco I & Choco II. "International Journal of American Linguistics", "29".
* Mortensen, Charles A. (1999). "A reference grammar of the Northern Embera languages". Studies in the languages of Colombia (No.7); SIL publications in linguistics (No. 134). SIL.
* Pardo Rojas, Mauricio y Daniel Aguirre L. (1993). "Dialectología chocó". "Biblioteca Ezequiel Uricoechea" 11: 269-312. Bogotá:ICC. es